iRacing 2021 Season 3 is HERE!
June 9th, 2021 by Chris Leone
It’s time for another massive iRacing content release for 2021 Season 3! After the early releases of the NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen cars and Chicago Street Circuit, you’ve already gotten a taste of some of our newest content, but there’s plenty more to share. Here’s a look at what’s in store:
- Porsche 911 GT3 R: Porsche’s internationally renowned GT3 challenger joins the iRacing fray for competition in premier tracks around the world starting with Season 3. Get your first taste of the car in iRacing AI, where it joins seven other GT3s, before getting competitive with it in our IMSA, sprint, and endurance series.
- Red Bull Ring: Head to the home of the Austrian and Styrian Grands Prix with iRacing’s newest internationally renowned road course. Three fast and fun track layouts, headlined by the Grand Prix course, will challenge your skills at any level of racing.
- Nashville Superspeedway: Nashville’s long-awaited return as a host city for the NASCAR Cup Series comes this year at the revitalized Nashville Superspeedway. Be one of the first to hit the track as you await the inaugural Ally 400 later this month!
- Formula Vee: Get your start in open-wheel racing at the Rookie level with the Formula Vee, free for all users. Six decades of racing heritage come to life in one of the most fun new cars to hit the service!
- SCCA Spec Racer Ford: Fully overhauled to reflect the current SRF3 spec, one of iRacing’s longest-tenured starter road racing cars gets both lighter and faster with the addition of a more powerful engine.
- BMW M4 GT3: The M4 GT3 is no longer designated a Prototype—it’s received its final updates in time for Season 3. If you’ve previously purchased the Prototype version, you’ll see the updated version automatically.
- Dirt Road Ladder Overhaul and VW Beetle Lite: A brand new, expanded Dirt Road racing ladder offers drivers the opportunity to race at higher license classes. As part of the revamp, a new, 300-horsepower Lite version of the Volkswagen Beetle has been added as a free car.
- New Forums: iRacing will introduce a brand new forum in conjunction with the Season 3 build, and all new posts, discussions, and announcements from staff will be moved there from now on. The old forums will remain open until June 23 before entering a read-only state.
- New AI Content: More than two dozen track configurations have been unlocked for AI use, primarily focusing on base content to give Rookie drivers the opportunity to practice race sessions before hitting the track with real opponents. The ovals at Lanier, Lucas Oil, South Boston, Southern National, and Thompson have been unlocked for AI use as the Street Stock joins the car lineup, while Lime Rock, Okayama, Oran Park, Oulton Park, Summit Point, and Tsukuba also have layouts joining the roster.
- New Damage Model and Visual Updates: The Formula Vee and Street Stock get the NDM, while debris from other cars will be collidable for less time in high latency environments. Smoke, dust, sparks, and more have also been updated.
- iRacing UI Updates: Content info windows now feature the Find Sessions tab, where you can find places to race each car or track. Custom paints are now displayed in the UI on car thumbnails. And in team racing, declared drivers can be updated prior to the start of race sessions.
- Race Control: The introduction of a four-tire detection system for off-track penalties debuts in certain areas of Spa. Admins also have the ability to adjust pace and caution laps on the fly with the new !pacelaps (!p) command.
Click here to read the full release notes on the new iRacing forums!